Machine for folding collar blanks



Nov. 2 1926.

- 1,605,689 F. W. OXLEY ET AL.

MACHINE FOR FOLDING COLLAR BLANKS Filed 12, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.1.

' 07/0 .9 F WM Mia,-

Nov. 2 1926.

F. W. OXLEY ET AL MACHINE FOR FOLDING COLLAR BLANKS Filed May 12 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 2 1926. I 1,605,689

F. w. OXLEY 5r AL MACHINE FOR FOLDING COLLAR BLANKS Filed May 12. 1922 s Sheets-Shani 5 Patented Nov. 2, 1926.

UNITED STATES FREDERICK WILLIAM oXL'EY, OLIVER BERTRAM SHEPHERD, AND c-nonen DER CRAWFORD, or BELFAST, IRELAND.

PATENT oEFIcE.

ALEXAN- MACHTITE FOR FOLDING COLLAR BLANKS.

Application filed May 12, 1922, Serial No. 560,393, and in Great Britain March 25, 1922,

This invention relates to improvements in collar folding machines.

At present difiiculty is experienced in folding over the edges of collars of the kind having an angle between each fastening tab or flap and the adjacent top edge or wing. The difficulty is to provide sufficient material at the junction between these parts to ensure firstly enough folded-over material for securing purposes and secondly sufiicient strength in the finished collar.

The object of our improvements is to overcome the aforesaid difficulty by providing means for raising and stretching the portions of a collar blank at the vertices between the tabs and wings preparatory to cutting and folding over the edges of the blank.

As hereinafter described with reference to the drawings the machine may be adapted to fold all the edges of the blank simultaneously over a die or former under the action of movable folder plates, the folds being completed by the upward pressure of aheated bed plate.

On the drawings Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic front elevation, Fig. 2 an end elevation and Fig. 3 a plan of the machine;

Fig. 4 is a detail elevation and Fig. 5 a plan of the means for raising and cutting the blank for a rounded wing collar;

Fig. 6 is a similar view showing said means as used in making a collar in which the outer and inner plies are made from one piece of material; and

Figs. 7 and 8 are detail views showing the preferred construction of the die or former. i

The machine illustrated comprises a frame 1 having a bed platethe central portion 2 of which can be raised and lowered as and for the purpose hereinafter described. Heaters 3 are arranged below the bed plate in known manner.

Above the bed plate is a cross head 4 to which a die or former'5 can be removably attached, formers of different shapes and sizes being used for different shapes and sizes of collars as will be understood. The crosshead is shown attached to a lever 26 (Fig. 2) pivoted to the machine at 27 and provided with an adjustable Weight 25; it can be held in the operative position shown in big. 2 against the action of the weight 25 by means of a locking lever 24 pivoted to the machine at 24 and adapted to engage the end of the lever 26.

Mounted on the bed plate are movable carriers 6, 7, 8 and 9, to the under-sides of which are removably attached folder plates 6 7, 8 and 9; the plates 6 and W extend one along each side of the former 5 and serve for folding over the side edges of a collar blank, while the plates 8 and 9 are located one at each end of said former and serve for folding over the end edges of said blank. The carriers are arranged for simultaneous operation to cause the folder plates to move inwardly, and to this end are shown connected by links 20, 21, 22 and 23 with a plate .15 which is turnably supported in a bearing below the bed plate. Suitable means are provided for turning said plate.

In Fig. 3 the carriers 6 and 7 are illustrated in forward or folding-over position and the carriers '8 and 9 in retracted position, for the sake of more clearly showing the various parts- The reference 10 (Fig. 3) denotes a collar blank in place on the machine and it will be seen the same has rounded wings 10 and tabs 10. Projections 8 and 9 are provided on the upper surfaces of the folder plates 8 and 9 to engage and raise the material of the blank at the vertices of the angles between said wings and tabs; mounted on the plates 8 and 9 so as to act in conjunction with said projections are knives 8 and 9 whose function is to out through the blank material at said vertices The knives may be operated in any appropriate manner. Slots 8 and 9 are formed in the folder plates 8 and 9 for the knives to pass througlrand r-correspondingly slotted plates 12 and 13' are provided below the blank 10 to be cut, ,these supporting plates being adjustable and hav ing' a number of slots 14 to suit different lengths of collar blanks. 1 Y

The central portion f the bed plate may, in known manner, be capable of being lowered below the level of the under sides of the movable plates 6, 7 8 and 9 for the purpose of facilitating the removal of the die and formed blank.

The operation of the machine is as follows A collar blank is placed on the bed plate, or alternatively it is attached to the under side of the former 5, while the latter is in the raised or inoperative position. Then the crosshead sl together with the former 5 is brought down into the operative position shown with the collar blank 10 under the former, the crosshead being locked in this position by means of the locking lever In this position the end'portions of the blank rest on the lower supporting plates 12 and 13 as shown in Fig. 3. The former comes down with the vertices of its angles close to the projections 8 and 9 so that'the blank at each vertex is on top of the adjacent projection which stretches the material as the former is lowered into its final position.

hen the plates 8, first come into en gagenient with the end edges of the collar blank, the projections 8, 9, engage the blank at the vertices of the angles between the wings 10 and tabs 10? thereby raising the same. ll hile in this position and before the folding operation is commenced by the folder plates the knives 8 and 9 are operated to cut through the material at the vertices of the angles between the wings and tabs, said knives passing through the slots 8 and 9" in the plates 8 and 9 and through he aligned slots 14 in the lower supporting plates 12 and 13. At this stage the folder plates 6 7". 8, and 9 are in the retracted position but they are now moved ly suitable means towards one another to engage and fold the edges of the collar blank over the edges of the former 5.

Next the bed plate is raised so that the folded edges of the collar blank material will be pressed tightly between the former 5 and the folder plates 6, 7 8 and 9. Then the bed plate is again lowered so that the folded blank will be lowered from contact with the folder plates, which latter are thereafter moved back to the retract-ed position. Finally the crosshead l is releasedby swinging back the locking lever 24 from engagement with the lever 26 whereupon the latter turns in an anti-clockwise direction 2) under the action of the weight 25 and automatically raises the crosshead with the former 5 and collar blank thereon so that the latter can be removed.

The preferred construction of former 5 is illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 from which it will be seen the former is made in two main parts 5 5 hinged together at 32, a leaf spring 33 being attached to the part 5 bearing. upon the part 5 in order to prevent the latter turning freely about'the hinge. The

former 5 is provided with pins 5 by means of which it can be removably attached to the crosshead. VYith this construction after the edges of the blank have been folded over the edges of the former 5 the part 5 can be turned about its hiiigc 82 to the position. in dicated by dotted lines in order to facilitate the removal of the folded blank from the former. The collar blank instead of being placed upon the top of the bed plate, may be attached by means of the spring catches 5 to the former In Fig. 6 the end plate 8 has two upstanding projections 8 8, and two knives 8, 8. Similarly the other end plate (not shown) has two upstanding projections and two knives. This arrangement is used in folding the edges of a collar blank in which the outer and inner plies are made from one piece of material. The operation of folding over the edges of the blank is as already described.

Having now fully described our invention what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is An edge folding machine for collars for personal wear of the type having an angle between the tab and the main body of the collar, comprising in combination, a bed plate; a former for the collar blank having recesses in boih its end edges corresponding with said angle of the collar; means carried by said bed plate adapted to receive formers of different size; end and side carriers slidably mounted on said bed plate; a knife on said end carriers adapted to cut the end edge of the collar at the vertex thereof; longitudinal edge folding devices on said side carriers; end edge folding devices on the end carriers having slots or openings therein for the passage of the knife; slotted plates on said bed plate beneath the end edge folding devices arranged that the slots therein are disposed in suitable positions according to the different sizes of formers and means associated with said end folding devices to raise and stretch the end edge of the collar at the vertex of its angle before it is cut, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures.

FREDERHIK WlLLlAM OXLEY. OLlVER EERTRAM SHEPHERD. GEORGE ALEXANDER CRAWFORD. 

